PJ Mark moved to NYC in 1990 and used his student loans to start a literary journal to publish writers and friends. He began his publishing career as an international book scout in 1993 and briefly worked as a journalist covering the book beat. In 2002 he became a literary agent, working at the talent agency IMG and at boutique firms Collins McCormick and McCormick & Williams. He joined Janklow & Nesbit Associates in 2010 and was named Partner in 2015.
His bestselling and widely acclaimed writers have influenced a generation of writers and readers. They regularly receive numerous awards and honors, including: 8 covers of the New York Times Book Review, multiple New York Times “100 Notable Books of the Year” lists, 4 covers of Publishers Weekly (twice for “Best Books of the Year”), 8 “5 Under 35” honors by the National Book Award Foundation, 17 nominations and 2 wins of The Center for Fiction Prize, 4 MacArthur "Genius" Grants, 2 Booker nominations and 5 National Book Award longlist and finalist medals. As well as frequent nominations and wins of: the Andrew Carnegie Medal, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Windham Campbell Prize, NEA grants, the Whiting Awards, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. They have been featured on The New Yorker’s “20 Under 40” list, Granta’s “Best of Young American Novelists” and the cover of TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.”
In 2022, three of his clients’ books—Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv, The Furrows by Namwali Serpell and An Immense World by Ed Yong—were named on the list of The Ten Best Books of 2022 by The New York Times Book Review.
New titles for 2024 include THE FETISHIST by Katherine Min, DREAMING OF RAMADI IN DETROIT by Aisha Sabatini Sloan, THE AMERICAN DAUGHTERS by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, 2054 by Elliot Ackerman, AMERICAN FLANNEL by Steven Kurutz, MOTHER ISLAND by Jamie Figueroa, ON THE MOVE by Abrahm Lustgarten, LIKE LOVE by Maggie Nelson, THE SPOILED HEART by Sunjeev Sahota, IN UNIVERSES by Emet North, GOD BLESS YOU OTIS SPUNKMEYER by Joseph Earl Thomas, THE GARDEN AGAINST TIME by Olivia Laing, THIS GREAT HEMISPHERE by Mateo Askaripour, LOVE TRIANGLE by Matt Parker, LIARS by Sarah Manguso, SOMEONE LIKE US by Dinaw Mengestu, UNSPEAKABLE HOME by Ismet Prcic, and 78 ACTS OF LIBERATION by Lane Smith.
More available at www.pjmark-books.com and on Instagram @pjmark.books